Wealth Advisor Rockville, MD
After a big week for the tech powerhouse, Apple surprised many on March 29 when it announced that its previously promised product, the AirPower charging mat, had been
Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering gave a statement confirming the news, “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward.”
The AirPower was first announced in 2017, along with the iPhone X and iPhone 8, Apple’s first phones that supported wireless charging. Apple said that product would launch in 2018, but never made good on that promise. The AirPower charging mat appears to be another example of Apple’s recent of announcing innovative new products, but not delivering them on time. Previously, The AirPods had a delay in being widely available. Prior to being available everywhere, AirPods were shipped in limited quantities. Additionally, the MacBook keyboard has had troubles. These issues have incited a discussion that perhaps something is wrong with Apple’s hardware processes, reports TechCrunch.
AirPower was set to be a wireless charger for Apple products in which Apple users could charge their batteries by simply placing their device on the mat.
The announcement of the cancelled project comes as a shock for company that has long enjoyed a reputation of consumer electronics.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told CNBC, “This is a major black eye for Apple. A product that was touted by Tim Cook himself never even makes the shelves, it’s a complete shocker. Does not move the needle financially speaking but it’s a hit to the golden Apple brand.”
While Apple has not further elaborated on the issue, TechCrunch reports that the AirPower delay might have been related to engineering problems, specifically that the mats ran too hot because the 3D charging coils in close proximity to one another.
The announcement comes just five days after Apple kicked off an event that showcased its upcoming video streaming service, TV+.
Currently, Apple users are able to wirelessly charge their phones using charging mats from other brands that use the Qi wireless charging standard.
Other than the proverbial black mark on the beloved brand, the announcement does not seem to have impacted Apple stocks. The company’s shares were up about half a percentage point in late-day trading on March 29.
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